In a move to bolster its drug manufacturing capabilities in the United States, Thermo Fisher has purchased a sterile fill-finish and packaging plant from Sanofi in Ridgefield, New Jersey.
In addition to manufacturing a portfolio of drugs for Sanofi at the site, Thermo will expand use of the facility “to meet the growing demand from pharma and biotech customers for U.S. manufacturing capacity,” the company said in a July 16 press release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
More than 200 Sanofi staffers are currently employed at the site. They will join Thermo when the transaction is finalized, the CDMO's chief executive, Marc Casper, said in a statement. The deal is expected to close before the end of this year and is part of a $2 billion U.S. investment pledge that Thermo Fisher unveiled three months ago.
“Sanofi’s Ridgefield site will strengthen our U.S. manufacturing capabilities, enabling us to better support our pharmaceutical and biotech customers with the critical production capacity needed for essential medicines,” said Casper. “We will also expand and further strengthen our long-standing partnership with Sanofi, while investing to bring additional capacity and enhanced capabilities at this site.”
The facility will become part of Thermo’s Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, which accounted for 52% of the $42.9 billion revenue reported (PDF) by the Massachusetts-based company in 2024. Other U.S. fill-finish sites in the Thermo network are in Greenville, North Carolina and Plainville, Massachusetts.
The facility was originally acquired by Sanofi in its $20 billion buyout of Genzyme in 2011. At the time, Genzyme was producing injectable drugs there. In 2021, Sanofi struck a deal with Moderna to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine at the facility.
“This expansion of our long-term partnership with Thermo Fisher will help ensure a continued supply of high-quality Sanofi products, maintaining our commitment to American manufacturing and supporting our customers and patients in the U.S., while enabling the future development and growth of the site,” Brendan O’Callaghan, Sanofi’s global head of manufacturing & supply, added in the release.
Sanofi still has a major presence in New Jersey. Two months ago, the French company cut the ribbon on its U.S. flagship complex in Morristown, which houses nearly 2,000 employees. The new offices replace Sanofi’s former facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Thermo’s recent evolution, meanwhile, includes a reduction of its manufacturing workforce in Massachusetts and the closure of one of its three viral vector production facilities. In February, the company spent $4.1 billion to acquire the purification and filtration business of Solventum.